Potato growers tackle challenges

FFCROPS

The U.S. potato industry faces challenges ranging from foreign roadblocks on exports to a proposed limit on how many spuds can be served in U.S. school lunchrooms.

But industry officials say they're confident of meeting the challenges.

"We have great leadership in this industry, and we're working hard," says Justin Dagen, president of the National Potato Council and a Karlstad, Minn., farmer.

The Washington-based National Potato Council held its annual summer meeting June 22 to 24 in Grand Forks, N.D. More than 100 growers from around the country attended.

The organization, which provides a unified voice for growers nationwide, typically holds its summer meeting near the home of its grower/president.

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The group looked at several key issues during the meeting.

Pesticide paperwork

The National Potato Council has been fighting the proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, known as NPDES, which will require general permits for pesticides applied "to, over or near" U.S. waters. NPDES is scheduled to become effective Oct. 31.

For many decades, pesticide use has been subject to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. But under a 2009 federal court ruling, pesticide applicators will need a NPDES permit if the chemical reaches any body of water.

Potato growers say NPDES has no environmental benefit and that it will be "a paperwork nightmare," costing as much as $1 billion to implement in the first year.

However, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee have passed House Resolution 872, "The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act." The Senate Ag Committee approved the legislation June 22, during the National Potato Council's summer meeting.

"There's been progress," says Doug Hanks, a St. Anthony, Idaho, grower, and vice president of the National Potato Council's environmental affairs committee.

Now, the full Senate needs to approve H.R. 872 before Oct. 31, he and other growers say.

"These things move so slowly. (Even so), we do see things happening that are positive," says Randy Hardy, an Oakley, Idaho, grower and vice president of the NPC's trade affairs committee.

One area of progress involves the trucking dispute between Mexico and America. As part of the longstanding disagreement, Mexico imposed a tariff on the import of 89 U.S. products, including potatoes.

It now appears that the trucking dispute will be resolved later this summer, which would set the stage for the tariff to be dropped.

"There's been enough pressure from industries such as ours that have been damaged by this that we will see an agreement and those tariffs will come off," Hardy says.

He's optimistic that Egypt will become an increasingly important market for U.S. seed spuds. Already, Egyptian potato production is on the upswing, rising from 1.7 million tons in 2000 to 4 million in 2009, according to information from the National Potato Council.

The U.S. was able to get seed for testing into Egypt before the massive demonstrations last winter that led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. Potatoes in the tests have been harvested and the results are being analyzed, Hardy says.

"Egypt appears to be a very strong potential market for seed," he says.

U.S. potato growers would like to sell more spuds to China, but little progress is being made, Hardy says.

"It's a potentially huge market. Right now, the Chinese are being very difficult to negotiate with," he says. The Chinese have linked buying more U.S. potatoes with the issue of increasing their apple exports to America - something the powerful U.S. apple industry opposes, Hardy says.

On a brighter note, it recently was announced that a second chipping plant will be built in Japan, he says.

"It's positive that Japan continues to be a building market," he says.

New farm bill looms

Potato growers, like other U.S. farmers, anticipate that the 2012 farm bill will bring reduced federal funding for agriculture.

"There's not going to be a whole lot of money out there," says Randy Mullen, a Pasco, Wash., grower and vice president of the NPC's legislative and government affairs committee. "We're going to have to focus on what we want to do and work very hard to attain funding for what we think are high priorities," he says.

Potato growers belong to the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, which promotes the interests of about 40 U.S. specialty crops. The 2008 farm bill dedicated about $3 billion in funding for issues involving specialty crop pests and disease, nutrition, research and conservation.

None of the money went for direct payments or subsidies for individual growers, according to information from the National Potato Council.